【Watch Ava Online】

Strava,Watch Ava Online a fitness tracking platform that logs activities on Fitbits, Jawbones and Garmin wearable devices, has a security problem.

In November, the platform launched a global heatmap of all the activity recorded through the tracking service. While it's not live, it's gathered a lot of data about user activity, patterns, routines, and locations -- and it appears to be exposing some military secrets.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

For the U.S. military the maps look like a potential security threat. With one billion activities logged on the map, it's a lot of useful data from all over.

Known and potentially secret military bases show bursts of activity and show where military members connected to the devices are exercising or sleeping. The Washington Postpinpointed potential exposure to military operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The map could also show other agencies and organizations, including non-American patrols, but as a security expert told the WaPo, the data could help enemy forces plan an attack or ambush on troops, American or otherwise.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

While there's not enough data to pinpoint American troops in low-activity areas like in the Middle East, American service members have in recent years been encouraged to use fitness trackers. A website for current and former military members lists discounts for a bevy of trackers.

Strava responded to the potential secret-exposing map with a statement reiterating its privacy options and a link to its privacy blog.

"Our global heatmap represents an aggregated and anonymized view of over a billion activities uploaded to our platform. It excludes activities that have been marked as private and user-defined privacy zones. We are committed to helping people better understand our settings to give them control over what they share," the statement said.

The only issue with the privacy options are that to keep things truly private you have to opt out and carve out privacy zones. So until someone goes in and fine tunes the settings, someone -- like a Fitbit-wearing soldier -- could inadvertently expose covert location and behavioral information.

Moreover, blind spots in otherwise populated areas could themselves point out facilities that are supposed to remain a secret.

That Fitbit challenge just turned into a security setback.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Woman's Fitbit saves her life after it detected a strange change in her heart rate

---

• Shopping
• Life
• Tech
• Social Good
• Entertainment
• Games
• Digital Culture
• Deals

• Best Max streaming deal: Save 20% on annual subscriptions
• One of Twitter's cofounders is rejoining the company — and not a moment too soon
• '12 Monkeys' Season 3 premiere preview: Cole fights his way to Cassie
• Elon Musk's Boring Company gets a FAQ, and it raises more questions than it answers
• The Mismeasure of Media
• The first TV with built
• David Tennant and Billie Piper re
• How to reset your Netflix algorithm after a breakup
• Apple is actively looking at AI search for Safari
• The next Apple Watch is reportedly being developed to monitor diabetes

• Little girl's official adoption hearing gets a magical Disney twist
• Can you find the Photoshop fail in this 'Pretty Little Liars' promo poster?
• Firefox finally gets an option to mute sites with autoplay sound
• 7 summertime shoe styles you loved as a little kid
• If you love to cook, you deserve a proper chef's knife
• 6 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' clues that won't spoil the story
• 'The Crimes of Grindelwald' looks like it's all about Dumbledore
• 15 YouTube covers that display the vast talent of Christina Grimmie
• A comprehensive guide to Nick Jonas' career thus far
• People are petitioning to drink the mummy juice from the probably cursed sarcophagus

• SpaceX's Starlink satellite launch in pictures
• One of Twitter's cofounders is rejoining the company — and not a moment too soon
• Mysterious flashes of light above Earth have a less
• Tencent is creating an entire town dedicated to esports
• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• Has ABC found the next 'Lost' in its new crop of dramas?
• Tracy Morgan won't play PC, goes all out for Netflix's 'Staying Alive'
• California State University's grad stole features a pretty brutal spelling error
• The fat bears are already extremely fat
• Man sends heartbreaking appeal to find last photo of late wife

• Best portable power station deal: Save $179.01 on the EcoFlow River 2 Max
• Hackers threaten to release upcoming Disney movie
• Driving test that uses only your hearing is totally freaking people out
• California State University's grad stole features a pretty brutal spelling error
• Best speaker deal: Save $30 on the JBL Clip 5
• Airline to charge you a $30 fee to bring your baby onboard
• These wireless buds put a computer in your ears
• Little boy goes on epic journey to buy TV for Mother's Day, with only 40 cents in his pocket
• The Baffler’s May Day Round Up
• Airline to charge you a $30 fee to bring your baby onboard